A few days ago, boards with visualizations of the project developed by the Management of Urban Greenery in Krakow for the new center of Grzegórzki - Grzegórzeckie Square, which is to be a green link between Dietla Street and Daszyńskiego Avenue and, in connection with the expansion of the high-speed agglomeration railroad, an important transfer point on the map of Krakow, appeared online. The project has become a stimulus for discussions on how to select projects for this and other equally important urban spaces.
site development plan
© Board of Urban Greenery in Krakow
The modernization of the railroad line, the construction of a flyover between Kopernika and Miodowa Streets, and the consequent elimination of the former railroad embankment and the freeing up of space under the new engineering structure is a huge investment affecting a significant and important part of the city. In 2018, the Office of the City of Krakow, in cooperation with the Krakow branch of the Association of Polish Architects, announced a two-stage, idea-based architectural and urban planning competition to develop a concept for the development of these spaces - "New Life Between the Estacades," the aim of which was to obtain concepts and ideas for shaping the center of Krakow, which will help determine the directions of spatial policy, development strategy and be the starting point for dialogue and public consultation. The winning proposal of the Dutch VenhoevenCS studio, according to the jury chaired by Tomasz Bobrowski, Chief Architect of the City of Krakow, is:
an eminently original and forward-looking in the idea of creative transformation of an onerous element of urban infrastructure - an above-ground agglomeration railroad route - into a resident-friendly means of public transport, creating opportunities to enrich the city with a new unquantifiable value, worthy of an epoch-making solution.
1st prize in the "New Life Between Estacades" competition, proj.: VenhoevenCS
vision: B1Design © VenhoevenCS
After the study competition, surveys, consultation meetings and - prepared by A2P2 architecture & planning - a series of participatory design workshops were conducted among the residents of Krakow, which indicated the most important postulates for the development of this space.
Thus, the best architectural proposal was selected (not an implementation project!), the opinion of the residents was listened to, and finally the project was prepared by the urban space shaping team operating in the Urban Greenery Board. Why was no implementation competition announced? We asked both the representative of the Board of Urban Greenery Aleksandra Mikolaszek, the president of the Cracow branch of SARP Marek Kaszynski, and the leader of the participatory design workshops Monika Arczynska from the A2P2 studio to comment on the matter.
A&B: The surroundings of the new Krakow Grzegórzki train stop were the subject of an architectural and urban planning competition in 2018 ("New Life Between Estakadas"), as well as consultation meetings and participatory design workshops. What conclusions from both of these activities were used in the design of Grzegórzecka Square?
Aleksandra Mikolaszek (ZZM): The basis for the design by the Board of Urban Greenery was a report on public consultations held with residents after the competition.
A&B: We recently wrote about the city's plans to announce a competition for the development of Kossak Square. On that occasion, Piotr Kempf, director of the Board of Urban Greenery in Krakow, stressed that the form of an architectural competition provides an opportunity for a broader discussion about the shape of future changes and a chance to look at a variety of ideas and a wider context. Why, in this case, does the city not opt for this form of project selection? Krakow Grzegórzki and the space under Estakady is one of the most important spaces in the city. A competition would give a chance to select the best project in this place, keeping in mind that in an implementation competition, as opposed to an ideation competition, visions are very real and respond to the set program and the conditions specified in it.
Aleksandra Mikolaszek (ZZM): Due to the tight schedule and the complexity of the project and related changing conditions - ongoing work on the implementation of the railroad investment, the City of Krakow decided to have the project carried out independently by the Board of Urban Greenery. This solution gives full flexibility to make rapid changes while maintaining the highest quality of the project.
visualization; view towards Grzegórzecka Street
© Board of Urban Greenery in Krakow
A&B: One of the most important postulates collected during the public consultations were greenery and parking spaces. The project prepared by the Board of Urban Greenery for Grzegórzecka Square includes, among other things, the planting of more than a hundred trees, water accents, rain gardens or a green roof on the existing market building. In your opinion, does this concept fit in with the needs of residents established during the consultation? Shouldn't such a prestigious space, after consultations and an ideation contest, be subject to an implementation competition, which would have a chance to be the best answer to the set topic?
Monika Arczynska (A2P2): Our study included an urban study and a summary of the consultation process, which focused on identifying the needs and expectations of not only residents, but also all stakeholders in the immediate vicinity of the flyover. One of the main conclusions of the process was to emphasize the importance of the square next to the Market Hall, which is already heavily used, and will become an extremely important public space in the center of Krakow and a major interchange once the Grzegórzki railroad station is operational. The proposal for its transformation is in line with the guidelines we have developed and includes the introduction of a large amount of greenery, restrictions on vehicular traffic and the improvement of pedestrian and bicycle connections. However, we have some doubts about the architectural solutions, including, among others, the green roof on the market's overhead, which will require a rather heavy structure. We wholeheartedly recommend the implementation architectural competition advocated by the industry community, as the space of the downtown square, which will be used by thousands of people a day, deserves a top-class design. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to use a formula to verify the first ideas of the designers - the space in this area is limited and its development requires reconciling the various needs of users.
visualization; current market square covered with a concrete roof, performing the functions of a city square
© Board of Urban Greenery in Krakow
A&B: The jury of the ideological competition for the development of new spaces between flyovers in Krakow awarded the green-filled proposal of the Dutch office VenhoevenCS. It was the starting point for public debate and setting directions for development. The next step was a public consultation, during which residents could say what was most important to them. What should be the next step in planning this urban space?
Marek Kaszynski (SARP Krakow): On the basis of the published visualizations, it is difficult to answer this question, because we do not know all the steps that have already been taken. Certainly, the outcome of the study competition and public consultations should be the development of a functional-utility program, collection of pre-design materials, determination of the budget, implementation schedule, etc. On the other hand, I am convinced that the last step before the development of a project that is the basis for implementation, should be an architectural-urban realization competition.
A&B: The Board of Urban Greenery wants to avoid the competition procedure, is it right?
Marek Kaszynski (SARP Krakow): The Board of Urban Greenery has invited SARP Krakow Branch to cooperate in a competition for another important urban space - Kossak Square. I hope that understanding of the democratic competition procedure is a road from which there is no return, and I trust that the same will be true for Grzegórzecka Square. Regardless of the form of the competition - open, closed, anonymous or in the recently popular "Flemish formula" - it still remains the best mechanism for selecting solutions according to quality criteria, and this in public spaces is extremely important.
Architectural competitions, judged by professional juries, make it possible to select the best solutions for given spaces. It is worth preparing them, as evidenced by the outstanding realizations selected in competitions in Poland and around the world of buildings and public spaces. They also show that architects excel at tackling the biggest challenges and most complex projects. We devoted the September issue of A&B entirely to architectural competitions. As we await the announcement of the competition for Grzegórzec Square and other urban spaces, we invite you to read on!
